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Once more again into the tangled and well-wrapped
world of Ragman, which I imagine is sort of like being inside a house that’s
been t.p.’ed. Last issue…basically one thing happened. Maybe more will happen
in this issue! Have a look at my review of Ragman
#3 and see!

Explain
It!

Let me tell you all something: I like Etrigan the
Demon. I like the Kirby version, I like Alan Moore’s iteration, I even like the
rhymin’ and stealin’ Etrigan by Garth Ennis and John McRea. I like Etrigan so
much, it surprises me when other people say they don’t like the character.
Like, I know he’s not a Green Lantern with the fancy tights, but he looks
really cool, and his motivations are always suspect, at best. Jason Blood I can
do without, but Etrigan is my demonic homeboy. Here, he plays the role of a
teacher to Rory, schooling him on the intricacies of the Suit of Souls—that’s
the name of his rag outfit, don’tcha know. But that happens at the end of the
book, let’s take a look at the beginning.

Seems there’s an endless stream of demons coming to
fight Rory and get his Suit of Souls, all of them using Old English improperly.
He’s able to dispatch them pretty well, but each one puts the public in danger
and he’s only got so far he can go without napping. After a cautionary but
supportive visit from Batwoman, one of the demons exhorts Rory to drain his
soul…but Rory either can’t or won’t, for some reason. Just then, a fellow
Marine named Jim Fanshawe whose arms and legs were blown off in the same freaky
incident that birthed Ragman in the first place shows up to see his old
military buddy…but he’s been infested by a Ragman-killing demon!

And boy, he takes Rory to task, shoving gunk in his
eye sockets that burn the crap out of them. It looks like he’s going to best
Rory, but then Etrigan shows up and advises that he open his Rag-Eyes, or
whatever, which gives him 360 degrees of sight and the ability to wallop
Fanshawe with a roundhouse kick. Fanshawe leaps on Ragman is looks about to
kill him, but some more rappin’ advice from Etrigan saves the day and now it
looks like Rory is enrolling in Demon School. Professor Etrigan T. Demon will
be leading the class. But I hope it’s mostly lectures, because while in human
form, Rory’s got no more eyeballs!

There was a lot to like in this book: a brief and
unobtrusive appearance by Batwoman, an awesome villain, and, of course,
Etrigan. It moved at a nice pace and filled in a lot of the blanks that the
last issue did not—in fact, this issue makes the last one seem entirely
superfluous. The art is terrific, and the coloring has everything looking
appropriately gritty. I really have no major complaints about this issue. Good
job!

Bits and
Pieces:

A fast-paced action-packed romp through Gotham City and Rory's psyche--at the same time! A couple of guest-appearances and the introduction of a good, though evil, villain are well-stirred into the fray. The last issue was more of a dud, but this one has me excited.